Every year, a 15-person committee bestows the Newbery Medal upon “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children,” a choice that guarantees a book’s immortal spot in grade school libraries.
According to the Washington Post, this award has generated some controversy of late, as educators, librarians, and parents worry that the committee is picking too challenging and too dark material. The article explores the blogged controversy, as well as exploring recent picks for the medal. Here’s the rub:
“[Some feel] the books that have won recently are so complicated and inaccessible to most children that they are effectively turning off kids to reading. Of the 25 winners and runners-up chosen from 2000 to 2005, four of the books deal with death, six with the absence of one or both parents and four with such mental challenges as autism.”
(Via Isak.)